Community questions answered

We were delighted to receive a set of questions from The FPV Hub community crew, who were keen to learn more about Liftoff's development, our team, and our future plans. We are excited to provide insights.

The FPV Hub: What are the thoughts and expectations for the future of the liftoff simulators? 

Every day, we ask ourselves this exact question, and the answer changes over time as new opportunities present themselves. What remains a constant is our commitment to supporting existing Liftoff projects. Since its launch in 2015, we have always promised to provide free updates for the classic Liftoff simulator as long as there is a supportive community. The popularity of Liftoff has consistently increased, attracting a growing number of pilots to our community each year. As such, we have all intentions to keep that promise.
 

Additionally, a major focus for our team is transitioning Liftoff: Micro Drones out of Early Access. We are currently dedicating significant development time to accomplish several key objectives for the project. These include introducing new frames, designing a fresh map, implementing a comprehensive tutorial, and soon starting work on a track builder. We are super proud of Liftoff: Micro Drones and where it’s going, while this project appeals to a much smaller segment of the drone community, I’m personally convinced this is our best Liftoff project to date and potentially even the best game our company has made.

Furthermore, we are actively engaged in designing the next installments in the Liftoff franchise. Our experimental project, Liftoff: Offworld, is in full swing. We are currently doing a complete overhaul of Liftoff's core technology to ensure that this new game in the Liftoff series is future-proof. That is taking a bit of time but will make future development go a lot smoother. 

 

A new level for Liftoff: Micro Drones being worked on.

The FPV Hub: What is it like behind the scenes working on Liftoff? 

Every day feels like an adventure, our work encompasses a wide range of activities. 

Despite being a small team with numerous development tasks, our top priority has always been the community. We dedicate a lot of our time checking out the community channels, answering support emails and generally getting a sense of the latest developments in the FPV world.

Our company operates with a flat structure, meaning that everyone works at the same level and has an equal opportunity to contribute to the ongoing development. Each team member takes responsibility for their work, makes decisions, and helps shape the project. We highly value finding joy in our work, which is why we equally consider community feedback and the preferences of our developers when making development decisions.

We firmly believe that if we no longer enjoy the process of creating Liftoff, it could be a sign that the project is nearing its completion. Therefore, it is essential for us to maintain a sense of enthusiasm and passion throughout our journey. Reading community posts, positive Steam reviews, watching Liftoff videos on Youtube and seeing the community enjoy our work makes all the difference. 

The FPV Hub: Talk about the history of LuGus studios and how it’s changed since it first started. 

LuGus Studios was established in 2011, four years prior to our venture into creating Liftoff. In those initial years, our focus primarily revolved around undertaking work-for-hire projects and developing numerous games, often with an educational aspect. The introduction of Liftoff marked a significant turning point for us.

During the initial stages of developing Liftoff, we continued to take on various work-for-hire projects to help fund the Liftoff project. As time went on, the introduction of new Liftoff projects and downloadable content (DLC) meant we could not only support the existing Liftoff projects but also invest in the future of the franchise. While we still work on a few other games alongside our main focus, the majority of our efforts are dedicated to Liftoff. One notable project we have been involved in is the creation of the highly acclaimed Midnight Protocol, a command-line hacking RPG. This project shows our commitment to crafting distinct and innovative gaming experiences. However, it is important to note that approximately 90% of our time is devoted exclusively to Liftoff.
 

The FPV Hub: Give us the story as to how the LuGus team met and how you decided on creating a drone simulator. 

The success of LuGus Studios has everything to do with having a great team. We started with only three people, and over the years, our team has gradually expanded to a core group of nine members, occasionally joined by interns. Our team members are highly dedicated and passionate about their work, with many of them being with us since the company’s inception over 10 years ago. 

One day I discovered a video of drones racing in a french forest and was completely fascinated.The idea intrigued me, so I shared the video with the rest of the team the following morning. We all became incredibly excited. Where most people would have been triggered to build a drone, instead we wondered if we could build a drone simulator. Over the course of a few weeks, we juggled this concept alongside our ongoing work-for-hire projects. When we shared early prototype footage, the response from the FPV community was overwhelming, with thousands of pilots expressing their enthusiasm. At that point we knew we had to go all-in on the idea.

 

Early Liftoff prototype screenshot
 

The FPV Hub: Talk a bit about your personal involvement with liftoff and how you got to the position you are in today.

While I cannot solely claim credit for the success of Liftoff, I can proudly say that I played a pivotal role in introducing the idea to the team.

My current responsibilities revolve around managing the company and the team, engaging in business development, interacting with the community, and ensuring that we make collective decisions that put food on the table. 

In the early years of the company, I actively participated in art production for our projects, including the creation of the initial Liftoff levels such as Straw Bale and Autumn Fields. However, it has been quite some time since I have been directly involved in production work, there’s too many other tasks to fulfill.
 

The FPV Hub: When, if at all, are we going to see new additions to the Workbench? Specifically an update to parts that fall in line with modern 6S quads? 

We recently introduced the Dquad Fixation as the latest addition to our lineup, and we remain committed to expanding the range of frames and parts available in the Workbench. The community has expressed a strong wish for more diverse flying environments, and this has become the current focus of our art team (just 3 people). Once the current tasks are completed, they can shift their attention to the next set of art tasks.

Since Liftoff is a simulator, we understand that pilots prefer to see real frames and parts. When pilots ask about the potential for adding more content to the Workbench, we understand that they are actually asking if their personal favorites will be included in the selection. The biggest challenge with frames and parts are our intention to have partnership deals to fulfill these goals. Liftoff offers a significant opportunity for these brands to showcase their products and elevate their brand visibility. With over half a million pilots owning Liftoff simulators, with many pilots beginning their FPV journey within Liftoff before investing in a real drone. While the top FPV brands understand this immense opportunity, not all recognize its potential yet, making it hard to make a connection. Without a partnership, we can not include certain brands.
 

The FPV Hub: Are there plans to eventually increase the limit number of players per server? If not, why so?

Previously, our response to that question had been a resounding "no" due to the restrictions imposed by the service provider. However, we are pleased to share that these limitations have been somewhat eased, and we are currently exploring the possibility of accommodating more pilots in a room. It is important to strike a balance, as overcrowding a single room can potentially hinder the overall gameplay experience and lead to a reduced number of multiplayer games available (and consequently, less choice), we believe there’s certainly room to expand the size a bit. Without making any clear promises, this update might come sooner than some might expect.

 

 

- Kevin Haelterman & the Liftoff team